The best festivals around the world

Festivals in March

MARCH

MOROCCO
Beyond Sahara | 3-6 March 2017 Beyond Sahara is an adventure-travel party for 250
people, where adrenalin-rush activities include sand-boarding, a
5km desert run and a camel convoy. There is also traditional
Moroccan cooking and a mix of street-food stars from London, and
four-posters in which to bed down when you're all partied out. Best
of all there's none of the usual festival angst when your phone
goes dead - you're miles away from mobile reception
anyway. For more information, visit fixers.travel

ST MARTIN, THE CARIBBEANSXMusic | 15-19 March 2017 Underground house and techno for the kind of discerning
dance-music-lovers you would normally find riding a tandem through
Burning Man Festival, handing out bindis at DC10 or grinning
ear-to-ear at BPM in Mexico; SXMusic is a new boutique festival
taking place for five sunshiney days on St Martin. Sort of Ibiza
vibes in the Caribbean, only the beaches are even better, the
drinks cheaper, and there's a whole summer's worth of DJs packed
into one short, spectacular burst. Names to get excited about
include Lee Burridge, Jamie Jones, DJ Tennis,
Psychemagik, Adriatique, Thugfucker, Dubfire and
Blond:ish.For more information, visit sxmusicfestival.com

AUSTRALIA
Port Fairy Folk Festival | 10-13 March 2017 So-called because it takes place in the artsy little town
of Port Fairy, a stop on the stunning Great Ocean Road, this
four-day folk-music fest combines delightful scenery with hundreds
of acts ranging across roots, Celtic, folk, country, bluegrass,
blues, jazz, rock, crossover and world music, as well as children's
entertainment, workshops and fringe acts.For more information, visit portfairyfolkfestival.com

NETHERLANDSThe European Fine Arts Fair | 10-19 March
2017 The historic city and Holland's foodie capital hosts
TEFAF, one of the world's leading art and antique fairs. TEFAF
features everything from Chinese antiques to paintings by French
impressionists to Helmut Newton prints, all displayed in a large
expo centre, beautifully decorated with fresh flowers. For more information, visittefaf.com

MELBOURNEMelbourne International Comedy Festival | 29 March-23
April 2017
One of the three biggest comedy festivals in the world, with a
dynamic line-up of international and home-grown comedy, cabaret,
street performance, theatre and visual arts.For more information, visit comedyfestival.com.au

BIRMINGHAMFlatpack Film Festival | 2017 dates to be
released
This curiously inventive festival roams around the entire city,
with venues ranging from a 100-year-old cinema to an 18th-century
cathedral - while events include Finnish animation sculptures, a
virtual dinner party, camera obscuras, a celebration of
long-forgotten Japanese silent stars and even, miaow, internet
cats.For more information, visit flatpackfestival.org.uk